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[shane8960]

Hi all,

I have a problem with my internet connection.

I had a new line installed (new house) early this year and the line never dropped (not that I remember anyway) and was constantly connecting at about 2.7mbps. However 2 months or so ago, the line dropped and re-synced at 1.5mbps. I didnt have a clue what the problem was, so I tried changing EVERYTHING.

We were using a Netgear DG834G with firmware V5.01.01, I tried changing to 2 different routers, a Belkin and a cheapo from ebuyer, also changed filters, made sure nothing else was connect, fitted to master socket etc etc. If anything the connection got worse and started dropping all the time (literally every 15 minutes).

I have now put the original Netgear router back in and installed RouterStats after reading about it on this site. The first time it connected, the connection dropped after about 10 minutes and I checked RouterStats and the actual router and the Noise Margin had dropped to 1.2 from about 6.

I rebooted the router and it connected again, and now has a Noise Margin of 12(varies slightly between 11.8 and 12), and has been stable for 50 minutes or so. However my profile is still at 1.5mbps (will have to wait a few days for it go back up to 2.7 as long as the connection doesnt drop again.

Is there anything I can do to make the connection more stable. I have just had a BT engineer out this morning who tested the line for 15 minutes or so and it was a perfectly silent line, he even checked it through all the filters etc and then ran a test with the "BT Hawk" (dont know what it was for), but he said the line is perfect, no noise or problems at all.

I do have alot of electrical items around my router (cordless phone, freeview box, Xbox 360, Wireless Alarm Control Panel, Nintendo Wii, Sony LCD, Sony DVD Player with surround sound.

I added the surround sound/dvd player about a week before I started having problems, However this is very rarely switched on when the line drops, and switching it on doesnt cause the line to drop, so im assuming this isnt a problem. I have even tried plugging the router into a secondary socket in a bedroom with NO electrical appliances in.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[shane8960]

Has just jumped to 19.2 - Nothing has changed in the house so I am ruling out it being something in the house causing it.

[roseway]

Hi and welcome.

It looks as though your target noise margin has been increased to 12 dB because of the instability. This results in a lower connection speed. I presume that this is what you mean when you say that your profile is still at 1.5 Mbps, and it's not going to go back up where it was unless the target noise margin gets reduced again. This won't happen until the original cause of the instability is diagnosed and fixed.

This sort of sudden change is unlikely to be due to your equipment - it's possible but unlikely. Far more likely is a line fault or a new source of interference. To find what's really causing the problem you might find these pages useful.

I've just seen your second note. Can I assume that the thing which has jumped to 19.2 is the noise margin? If so, that certainly suggests that the interference source has gone away for the time being (maybe something industrial being switched off mid-day Saturday) but it may well return of course.

[shane8960]

Thanks for that - I will have a read.

Yes I meant that the noise margin had increased to 19.2.

The connection has dropped at 10pm (latest I had been using a PC), and as early as 6am (the earliest I used the PC).

The BT engineer said that the line was all clear, but they would need a broadband engineer to check the line properly for ADSL problems.

Thanks,

Shane

[shane8960]

Quick question - I moved the subwoofer for the surround sound kit away from the router about half an hour before the noise dropped. Could this be it, or would I have noticed an immediate change?

Thanks, Shane

[roseway]

I would be very surprised if the subwoofer is responsible, but if it were then the effect would be seen immediately.